This one was ugly from the beginning, but the La Porte Bulldog's defense ruled the day and preserved victory late in the fourth quarter. The Baytown Sterling Rangers put up a great effort and caught the Bulldogs off guard, almost pulling off the last minute victory.
With La Porte up 14-7 and 5:34 left in the game the Rangers took over possession at the Bulldogs' 44 yard line. A big run gave Sterling a first down at the La Porte 20, but a big hit by La Porte Senior Defensive End Tyrone Graves who had a great game drove the Rangers back for a 3rd and 17. The ensuing play ended in a offensive pass interference penalty driving the Rangers back to the La Porte 42 yard line and a 3rd down with 32 yards to go. Sterling's Sophomore Quarterback Jaime Acosta threw a pass as high and far as he could and standout Junior Wide Receiver Jamar Gibson answered the prayer to put Baytown Sterling inside the ten yard line. Two runs and the Rangers were on the one yard line with Acosta taking the keeper into the end zone to make the score 14-13 La Porte with the extra point coming up. Sterling called timeout and ultimately decided to go for 2 and the win. The toss to the right was stuffed by the Bulldog defense and La Porte held onto the lead and the win. Baytown Sterling's onside kick would sail out of bounds untouched and the Bulldogs would form the victory formation to run the rest of the clock.
This game was not expected to be this close as Baytown Sterling came in with a 0-6 record while La Porte entered the contest at 5-1. The Bulldogs had two touchdowns called back by penalty on the night while the Rangers had a long touchdown run called back. How did we get to this exciting conclusion to the game Friday?
The game began with La Porte moving the ball down the field mostly through the air with short passes with Senior Quarterback Josh Vidales slinging the ball around to the speedy Bulldog receivers. With the ball inside the Rangers 20 a missed exchange on the shotgun snap was picked up by Sterling's Chad Whitaker and taken 71 yards the other way to open up the scoring for Baytown Sterling with a 7-0 lead.
For the remainder of the first quarter and half the second the Bulldogs offense struggled to get on track, but the Bulldog's Dark Side defense came through after Sterling drove the ball on the ground into La Porte territory with a big fumble recovery. The Bulldogs took over and tied up the game on a slick pass from Vidales to Sophomore Fullback Trevor Nelson for a 5 yard touchdown. Nelson has been much more involved with the offense the last two weeks and has good hands for a big guy. It was 7-7 with 3:52 left in the half.
After La Porte forced Sterling into a quick three and out the Bulldogs took over at their own 49 with three minutes remaining. The next play Vidales found Senior Wide Receiver Aaron Nance-Garret for a 50 yard touchdown, but penalty took the points off the board. The drive stalled from there, but not before Junior Kicker Eric Medina could attempt a 56 yard field goal which I believe would have set the school record. However Medina was a few yards short on a kick that had the right trajectory.
Halftime stats were lopsided towards the Bulldogs with a 120-45 advantage in total yards. Sophomore Quarterback Jordan Jackson entered the game to start the half and proceeded to drive the Bulldogs down the field culminating with a 15 yard pass from Jackson to Nance-Garrett and a 14-7 La Porte lead.
The Bulldogs continued to look fired up and Junior Cornerback Ellis Hutchinson got a interception on one of the many jump balls played by the Rangers passing game. Junior Running Back Keith Whitely who had success running on the night (131 yards on 19 carries) had a long touchdown run called back by penalty eventually the drive ended on a failed 4th down conversion and La Porte's momentum seemed to fizzle away.
The Darkside defense kept the Bulldogs in it throughout the 4th quarter including an interception by Junior Cornerback Malik Graves with a little help on a tip by Junior Linebacker Cameron Whilley. More offensive mishaps and the final Baytown Sterling drive took place leading to La Porte's victory. La Porte was playing with two starters missing from the young offensive line.
The Bulldogs may have been looking ahead to next week's North Shore match up in Galena Park, but barely got out of this one with the win and it should ensure a playoff spot for the Bulldogs. One thing that's for sure is that they will not be looking past the North Shore Mustangs this Friday.
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